Method and system for automatically redirecting jobs in a device community

ABSTRACT

A system and method for automatically redirecting a job in a community of networked devices. A peer-based device community can be created by connecting at least two networked devices utilizing a manual/self-discovery approach based on a set of rules and policies in order to interact and publish a device capability within the device community. A self-assessment approach can be employed to monitor and track the status and consumables of each networked device. A device can perform a self-assessment based on particular criteria and then determine, based on such criteria, whether to request assistance. Such a request is broadcast by the device and includes job ticket data and data indicating why such a request is being made. Devices receiving the request then perform a self-assessment in relation to the specific job and determine if they can provide better service. The job can be automatically transmitted between the networked devices in response to a help request with respect to an exception condition in the device community. A notification indicative of the transmission of the job to another device can be provided to a user. Such an approach provides an internal workload balancing with greater customer satisfaction by re-routing the job from the devices in the exception conditions.

TECHNICAL HELD

Embodiments are generally related to networked devices such as, forexample, printers, scanners, client devices, photocopy machines,multi-function devices, and the like. Embodiments are additionallyrelated to a community of networked peer devices.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

Networked devices such as, for example, multi-function devices,scanners, photocopy machines, client devices, file servers, printservers, and work flow engines are employed in a wide variety ofproduction environments such as, for example, print shops, offices,education institutions, drug stores, libraries, computer labs, and thelike. Such networked rendering devices can be communicatively linkedwith a client device, for example, in order to assist in providingvarious rendering operations such as printing, scanning, and otheroperations within a network.

Conventionally, a job can be manually transmitted from one device toanother in a network; however, quality issues may result in customer oruser dissatisfaction with the transmitted job. Additionally, manualredirection of a job from one device to another can be frustrating, timeconsuming, and generic rather than specific to the immediate usageprofile of the devices in complex rendering applications, Alternatively,networked devices can be configured into clusters, wherein the devicesin each cluster are physically proximate to one another. A programroutine executed by a network server may direct the job to anotherdevice in the cluster. A network server may select the device to whichthe task is diverted based on device availability. Such prior artapproaches do not securely transfer the job and communications betweenthe server and the networked devices typically occur external to acustomer or user firewall.

Based on the foregoing, it is believed that a need exists for animproved system and method for automatically redirecting a job in acommunity of networked devices, as described in greater detail herein.

BRIEF SUMMARY

The following summary is provided to facilitate an understanding of someof the innovative features unique to the disclosed embodiments and isnot intended to be a full description. A full appreciation of thevarious aspects of the embodiments disclosed herein can be gained bytaking the entire specification, claims, drawings, and abstract as awhole.

It is, therefore, one aspect of the disclosed embodiments to provide fora networked community of peer devices.

It is another aspect of the disclosed embodiments to provide for animproved system and method for automatically redirecting a job within acommunity of networked peer devices.

The aforementioned aspects and other objectives and advantages can nowbe achieved as described herein. A system and method for automaticallyredirecting a job in a community of networked devices is disclosedherein. A peer-based device community can be created by connecting atleast two networked devices (e.g., a rendering device) utilizing amanual/self-discovery approach based on a set of rules and policies inorder to interact and publish a device capability within the devicecommunity. A self-assessment approach can be employed to monitor andtrack the status and consumables of each networked device. The job canbe automatically transmitted between the networked devices in responseto a help request with respect to an exception condition (e.g., paperjam, low consumable/quality level, diagnostic mode, print limit, andlarge queue) in the device community. A notification indicative of thetransmission of the job to another device can be provided to a user.Such an approach provides an internal workload balancing with greatercustomer satisfaction by re-routing the job from the devices in theexception conditions.

The help request can be transmitted within the community if a faultdevice necessitates to transfer the workload to another device and/orthe device that possess a print limit is unable to complete the job. Thenetworked devices can request allocations from other devices in order tocomplete and/or accept the jobs in the community. The device thatpossesses capability to complete the job can further indicate acceptanceof the job of the fault device based on its compatibility to process thejob. The networked devices in the device community can be communicatedvia a standard protocol such as a SNMP (Simple. Network ManagementProtocol) and a file transfer protocol. Each device in the community canbe connected via a peer-to-peer connection in order to communicate thecapabilities of other devices in the community. The job can be movedfrom one peer to another based on the policies, state, and functionalityof the original peer thereby reducing the need for re-submission.

The networked devices can be connected as a member of one or morecommunities in order to enable bridging between the communities. Thenetworked devices described herein are also capable of self-updating andsharing pre-paid print allocations within the community and contactexternal resources that describe device capabilities for a specificdevice. Such devices can also effectively share/compare policy checkswith respect to the job across the device community. Such an approacheffectively process and manage the resources with respect to the devicecommunity and minimize communications outside a customer firewall with aperception of higher security.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

The accompanying figures, in which like reference numerals refer toidentical or functionally-similar elements throughout the separate viewsand which are incorporated in and form a part of the specification,further illustrate the present invention and, together with the detaileddescription of the invention, serve to explain the principles of thepresent invention.

FIG. 1 illustrates an example of a networked device coupled to adata-processing apparatus through a network, in accordance with thedisclosed embodiments;

FIG. 2 illustrates a graphical representation of a networked devicecommunity, in accordance with the disclosed embodiments;

FIG. 3 illustrates a high level flow chart of operations illustratinglogical operational steps of a method for redirecting a job within thenetworked device community, in accordance with the disclosedembodiments;

FIG. 4 illustrates a flow chart of operations depicting logicaloperational steps of a method for configuring rules and policies withrespect to the networked device in the device community, in accordancewith the disclosed embodiments;

FIG. 5 illustrates a flow chart of operations depicting logicaloperational steps of a method for providing a response with respect to arequest for help within the device community, in accordance with thedisclosed embodiments;

FIG. 6 illustrates a flow chart of operations depicting logicaloperational steps of a method for processing a job transfer request inthe device community, in accordance with the disclosed embodiments; and

FIG. 7 illustrates a flow chart of operations depicting logicaloperational steps of a method for automatically redirecting jobs in adevice community, in accordance with the disclosed embodiments.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

The particular values and configurations discussed in these non-limitingexamples can be varied and are cited merely to illustrate at least oneembodiment and are not intended to limit the scope thereof.

The embodiments now will be described more fully hereinafter withreference to the accompanying drawings, in which illustrativeembodiments of the invention are shown. The embodiments disclosed hereincan be embodied in many different forms and should not be construed aslimited to the embodiments set forth herein: rather, these embodimentsare provided so that this disclosure will be thorough and complete, andwill fully convey the scope of the invention to those skilled in theart. Like numbers refer to like elements throughout. As used herein, theterm “and/or” includes any and all combinations of one or more of theassociated listed items.

The terminology used herein is for the purpose of describing particularembodiments only and is not intended to be limiting of the invention. Asused herein, the singular forms “a”, “an” and “the” are intended toinclude the plural forms as well, unless the context clearly indicatesotherwise. It will be further understood that the terms “comprises”and/or “comprising,” when used in this specification, specify thepresence of stated features, integers, steps, operations, elements,and/or components, but do not preclude the presence or addition of oneor more other features, integers, steps, operations, elements,components, and/or groups thereof.

Unless otherwise defined, all terms (including technical and scientificterms) used herein have the same meaning as commonly understood by oneof ordinary skill in the art to which this invention belongs. It will befurther understood that terms, such as those defined in commonly useddictionaries, should be interpreted as having a meaning that isconsistent with their meaning in the context of the relevant art andwill not be interpreted in an idealized or overly formal sense unlessexpressly so defined herein.

As will be appreciated by one skilled in the art, one or more of thedisclosed embodiments can be embodied as a method, system, or computerprogram usable medium or computer program product. Accordingly, thedisclosed embodiments can in some instances take the form of an entirehardware embodiment, an entire software embodiment or an embodimentcombining both software and hardware aspects all generally referred toherein as a “module.” Furthermore, the disclosed embodiments may takethe form of a computer usable medium or computer program product on acomputer-usable storage medium having computer-usable program codeembodied in the medium. Any suitable computer readable medium may beutilized including hard disks, USB Flash Drives, DVDs, CD-ROMs, opticalstorage devices, magnetic storage devices, etc.

Computer program code for carrying out operations of the presentinvention may be written in an object oriented programming language(e.g., Java, C++, etc.) or another appropriate programming language,depending upon design considerations. The computer program code,however, for carrying out operations of the present invention may alsobe written in conventional procedural programming languages such as the“C” prog ramming language or in a visually oriented programmingenvironment such as, for example, Visual Basic. The program codedescribed herein can be configured entirely on devices within thecommunity. The only connection to a client computer involves notifyingsuch a computer regarding what has changed or to request approval forsuch a change.

The disclosed embodiments are described in part below with reference toflowchart illustrations and/or block diagrams of methods, systems, andcomputer program products and data structures according to embodimentsof the invention. It will be understood that each block of theillustrations, and combinations of blocks, can be implemented bycomputer program instructions. These computer program instructions maybe provided to a processor of a general-purpose computer, specialpurpose computer, or other programmable data processing apparatus toproduce a machine, such that the instructions, which execute via theprocessor of the computer or other programmable data processingapparatus, create means for implementing the functions/acts specified inthe block or blocks.

These computer program instructions may also be stored in acomputer-readable memory that can direct a computer or otherprogrammable data processing apparatus to function in a particularmanner such that the instructions stored in the computer-readable memoryproduce an article of manufacture including instruction means whichimplement the function/act specified in the block or blocks.

The computer program instructions may also be loaded onto a computer orother programmable data processing apparatus to cause a series ofoperational steps to be performed on the computer or other programmableapparatus to produce a computer implemented process such that theinstructions which execute on the computer or other programmableapparatus provide steps for implementing the functions/acts specified inthe block or blocks.

Referring to FIG. 1, system 100 can be configured to include one or morenetworked devices, such as networked device 140, coupled to adata-processing apparatus 110 through a network 135. In someembodiments, networked device 140 may be a rendering device such as aprinter, scanner, copy machine, etc. In other embodiments, networkeddevice 140 may be a MFD, a file server, and/or a print server. Thedata-processing apparatus 110 may be, for example, a personal computeror other computing device, and generally includes a central processor120, a display device 115, a keyboard 131, and a pointing device 130(e.g., mouse, track ball, pen device, or the like). Additionalinput/output devices, such as the rendering device 140, may be includedin association with the data-processing apparatus 110 as desired.

Note that as utilized herein, the term networked device may refer to anapparatus or system such as a printer, scanner, fax machine, copymachine, etc., and/or a combination thereof (e.g., a MFD). Preferably,networked device 140 is a MFD capable of multiple rendering functionssuch as printing, copying, scanning, faxing, etc. In some embodiments,the rendering device 140 may be implemented with a single renderingfunction such as printing. In other embodiments, the rendering device140 can be configured to provide multiple rendering functions such asscanning, faxing, printing, and copying.

The data-processing apparatus 110 can be coupled to the rendering device140 (and other rendering devices) through a computer network 135.Network 135 may employ any network topology, transmission medium, ornetwork protocol. The network 135 may include connections such as wire,wireless communication links, or fiber optic cables. In the depictedexample, network 135 is the Internet representing a worldwide collectionof networks and gateways that use the Transmission ControlProtocol/Internet Protocol (TCP/IP) suite of protocols to communicatewith one another. At the heart of the Internet is a backbone ofhigh-speed data communication lines between major nodes or hostcomputers consisting of thousands of commercial, government,educational, and other computer systems that route data and messages.

The networked device 140 includes a user interface 145 such as a panelmenu. The panel menu may be used to select features and enter other datain the device 140. Such interfaces may include, for example, touchscreens having touch activated keys for navigating through an optionmenu or the like. A driver program, for example, can be installed on thedata-processing apparatus 110 and can reside on the host device's harddrive 150. The driver program may be activated through an applicationinterface so that a user may generate a print job with the driver forprocessing by the rendering device 140.

The data-processing apparatus 110 also includes a GUI 125 forcommunicating rendering features for processing, for example, a printjob to a user and accepting the user's selection of available renderingfeatures. The user interface 125 displays information and receives datathrough the device display and/or the keyboard/mouse combination. Theinterface 125 also serves to display results, whereupon the user maysupply additional inputs or terminate a given session. Thedata-processing apparatus 110 can be, for example, any computing devicecapable of being integrated within a network such as a PDA, personalcomputer, cellular telephone, point-of-sale terminal, server, etc.

The input device of the networked device 140, for example, may be alocal user interface 125 such as a touch-screen display or separatekeypad and display or a memory fob or the like as discussed above.Alternatively or additionally, the input device may be a wireless portthat receives a wireless signal containing constraint data from aportable device. The wireless signal may be an infrared orelectromagnetic signal. A system administrator may input constraint datathrough the local user interface by manipulating the touch screen,keypad, or communicating via wireless messages through the wirelessport. The administrator's portable device that communicates wirelesslymay be a personal digital assistant (POA) or the like, as noted above.

The following description is presented with respect to embodiments ofthe present invention, which can be embodied in the context of adata-processing apparatus 110 and networked device 140 depicted in PG.1. The present invention, however, is not limited to any particularapplication or any particular environment. Instead, those skilled in theart will find that the system and method of the present invention may beadvantageously applied to a variety of system and application softwareincluding database management systems, word processors, and the like.Moreover, the present invention may be embodied on a variety ofdifferent platforms including Macintosh, UNIX, LINUX, and the like.Therefore, the description of the exemplary embodiments, which follows,is for purposes of illustration and not considered a limitation.

FIG. 2 illustrates a graphical representation of a networked devicecommunity 200, in accordance with the disclosed embodiments. Note thatin FIGS. 1-6, identical or similar blocks are generally indicated byidentical reference numerals. The networked device community 200includes one or more networked devices such as, for example, printers202 and 204, photo-copy machines 208 and 210, a scanner 212,multi-function devices 214 and 216, and a file server and/or a printserver 206 that are connected via a peer-to-peer connection in ordercommunicate the capabilities and other information within the devicecommunity 200.

The networked devices 202, 204, 206, 208, 210, 212, 214 and 216 in thedevice community 200 can communicate via a standard protocol such as,for example, a SNMP (Simple Network Management Protocol) and a filetransfer protocol. Note that the device community 200 described hereincan be a group of interdependent elements inhabiting the same region andinteracting with each other with a measure of self-reliance.

The peer-peer based networked device community 200 can be created byutilizing a manual/self-discovery approach based on a set of rules andpolicies in order to communicate a device capability within the devicecommunity 200. Note that the peer-to-peer (P2P) connection technique canbe a communication model in which each device 202, 204, 206, 208, 210,212, 214 and 216 has similar computing capabilities for initiating acommunication section. The peer-to-peer connection is a type oftransient network that permits a group of users within the samecommunity to connect with each other and directly access the data files.The peer-to-peer networks can be typically employed for connecting thenetworked devices 202-216 via an ad hoc connection. Note that thenetworked devices 202-216 can be connected as a member of a number ofcommunities in order to enable bridging between the communities.

A user 270 such as, for example, a managed print services customertypically accesses the client device 220 in order to submit a job 240along with job specifications 260 in order to effectively process thejob 240 with respect to the device community 200. The job 240 can bemoved from one peer to another based on the policies, state, andfunctionality of the original peer thereby reducing the need forre-submission. The device community 200 further automatically transmitsthe job 240 between the networked devices 202-216 in response to a helprequest with respect to an exception condition. Note that the exceptioncondition within the device community 200 can include such as, forexample, paper jam, low consumable/quality level, diagnostic mode, printlimit, and large queue, etc. within the device community 200.

The help request can be transmitted within the community 200 if a faultdevice needs to transfer the workload to another device and/or thedevice that possess a print limit to complete the job 240. The networkeddevices 202-216 can request allocations from other devices in order tocomplete and/or accept the jobs 240 in the community 200. The devicesthat possess capability to complete the job 240 can further indicateacceptance of the job 240 with respect to the fault device based on itscompatibility.

For example, consider a networked device is in a jam state for a timeperiod (e.g., ‘x’ minutes), which is Linable to process large number ofjobs queued for processing and the total time with respect to thenetworked device exceeds a threshold. The device is further lacking anappropriate resource, quality level, and policy requirements to completethe job. Such networked device can transmit a request for sparebandwidth from other devices in the community 200 in order to completethe jobs 240 with respect to the user 270. The device community 200 alsogenerates a notification indicative of the transmission of the job 240with respect to the user 270. The status and consumables with respect toeach networked device 202-216 can be monitored and tracked utilizing aself-assessment approach in order to automatically transmit and acceptthe job 240 within the community 200.

Such automatic transmission of jobs 240 provides internal workloadbalancing with greater customer satisfaction by re-routing the job 240from devices in exception conditions. A “help desk” 295 associated withthe device community typically monitors and provides information withrespect to a deleted and/or dropped off networked device in the devicecommunity 200. The help desk 295 determines an IP (Internet Protocol)address change, subnet change, and/or community discovery process andfinds all new devices within the community 200. The help desk 295 canalso alert the devices regarding changes in the community 200. The helpdesk 295 can run on a device basis or via a community basis byrechecking memberships and comparing with other communities in thenetwork. The networked devices 202-216 within the community 200 arecapable of self-updating and sharing pre-paid print allocations andcontact external resources that describe device capabilities forspecific devices. The devices 202-216 can also effectively share/comparepolicy checks with respect to the jobs across the device community 200.

FIG. 3 illustrates a high level flow chart of operations illustratinglogical operational steps of a method 300 for redirecting the jobs 240within the networked device community 200, in accordance with thedisclosed embodiments. Connecting the networked devices 202-216utilizing the manual/self-discovery approach based on the set of rulesand policies can create the device community 200, as depicted at block310. FIG. 4 illustrates a detailed flow chart of operations illustratinglogical operational steps of a method 400 for configuring rules andpolicies with respect to the networked devices 202-216 in the devicecommunity 200, in accordance with the disclosed embodiments. The rulesand policies can be created based on one or more device parameters suchas machine location, subnet addresses, feature sets, and a specificbalance of machine types, etc. in order to determine the conditions forgenerating the request for help within the community 200.

A wait period can be set with respect to the fault device when there isno activity to clear the fault within the community 200, as illustratedat block 410. Multiple repeat jams can be assigned with respect to thefault-rendering device, as depicted at block 420. A job queue size canbe further fixed in order to request help from other devices in thecommunity 200, as indicated at block 430. Thereafter, the rules andpolicies with respect to the fault device can be set in order toindicate the acceptance of the job 240 by automatically transferring thejobs 240 to other devices in the community 200, as illustrated at block440.

The networked devices 202-216 can be further permitted to interact andpublish the device capabilities within the device community 200, asdepicted at block 320. A self-assessment approach can be employed tomonitor and track the status and consumables of each networked device202-216 in the community 200, as illustrated at block 330. The jobs 240can be automatically transmitted and accepted between the devices inresponse to the help request with respect to the exception condition inthe device community 200, as depicted at block 340. FIG. 5 illustrates adetailed flow chart of operations illustrating logical operational stepsof a method 450 for providing response with respect to the help requestwithin the device community 200, in accordance with the disclosedembodiments.

The help request with respect to the fault device can be transmitted toother devices in the device community 200, as illustrated at block 460.The capability of each device in the community 200 can be determinedbased on the device parameters, as depicted at block 470. Adetermination can be made whether the fault device requires help; asindicated at block 480. If help is required, the jobs 240 with respectto the fault device can be accepted within the device community 200, asillustrated at block 490. Otherwise, the process can be continued fromblock 460. Thereafter, the user 270 can be provided with thenotification indicative of the transmission of the job 240 to otherdevices in the community 200, as depicted at block 350.

FIG. 6 illustrates a flow chart of operations depicting logicaloperational steps of a method 500 for processing a job transfer requestin the device community 200, in accordance with the disclosedembodiments. A need for assistance condition can be determined withrespect to the fault device within the community 200, as indicated atblock 510. Next, as indicated at block 520, a request for assistance canbe broadcast to other devices in the device community 200. Such arequest can include the job ticket (with job features such asresolution, finishing, color, etc) and the reason it is requesting help(e.g., what part of its own self-assessment failed). Thereafter, asillustrated at block 525, a test can be automatically processed todetermine if anyone (e.g., any other devices in the device community)has responded positively. If it is determined that a device hasresponded positively, then as illustrated at block 530, a determinationcan be made as to which device to send to. Otherwise, the operationindicated at block 570 can be processed (which is discussed below).Assuming that a determination has been made that someone has respondedpositively, the job 240 can be divided between the appropriate networkeddevices in the community 200, as indicated at block 540.

The job 240 can be further transmitted to appropriate devices and aconfirmation can be received with respect to the transmitted jobs 240,as depicted at block 550. Note that the jobs 240 are transmitted asun-RIP'd jobs in the community 200. The jobs 240 can be transmitted tothe devices via a message and/or displayed at the user interface such asuser interface 145 of the rendering device 140. The notification can befurther provided with respect to the transmitted jobs 240 within thedevice community 200, as illustrated at block 560. Finally, the finishedjobs can be effectively submitted to the user 270 across the devicecommunity 200, as depicted at block 570.

The networked devices in the device community requests help from otherpeer devices, respond to help requests of peers, requestcapability-shared services from peers, and share pre-paid printavocations within the community. The devices in the communityeffectively transmit the jobs from one peer to another based on thepolicies, state, and functionality of the peers by reducing the need forre-submission. Such a system and method therefore effectively processand manage the resources with respect to the device community andminimize communications outside a customer firewall with a perception ofhigher security.

FIG. 7 illustrates a flow chart of operations depicting logicaloperational steps of a method 700 for automatically redirecting jobs ina device community, in accordance with the disclosed embodiments. Asindicated at block 702 in FIG. 7, the device performs a“self-assessment” based on particular criteria such as, for example, thecriteria set up depicted in FIG. 4. Thereafter, as depicted at block704, the device determines that it should ask for help. Then, asillustrated at block 706, the device broadcasts that request andincludes the job ticket and why it is requesting help (e.g., what theproblem is). Next, as described at block 708, the device(s) receivingthe request are automatically instructed to perform a self-assessment inrelation to this specific job, and then, as indicated at block 710,determine if they can provide a better service.

Following processing of the operation indicated at block 712, thedevice(s) can be instructed to automatically determine whether or notthey can meet the job ticket requirements (e.g. if the job requiresstaples, or duplex or color). Thereafter, as described at block 714, ifthe device(s) cannot meet the job requirements, then the device(s) senda negative response. Then, as depicted at block 716, if the device(s)meet the requirements, such device(s) can then perform the sameself-assessment as the requesting device to determine if they canprovide a better functionality. If their print queue is so long that thejob would take even longer or if their image quality or supply levelsare insufficient, then as indicated at block 718, the device(s) canautomatically send a negative response. Additionally, as depictedthereafter at block 719, if the self-assessment indicates that thedevice can perform the job in the time expected, then a positiveresponse can be automatically sent. The process depicted in FIG. 7 canthen end.

It will be appreciated that variations of the above-disclosed and otherfeatures and functions, or alternatives thereof, may be desirablycombined into many other different systems or applications. Also, thatvarious presently unforeseen or unanticipated alternatives,modifications, variations or improvements therein may be subsequentlymade by those skilled in the art which are also intended to beencompassed by the following claims.

1. A method for automatically redirecting jobs in a device community,said method comprising: configuring a device community by connecting atleast two networked devices to one another to form said device communitybased on a set of rules and policies in order to interact and publish adevice capability with respect to said at least two networked devices ofsaid device community; monitoring and tracking a status of said at leasttwo networked devices associated with said device community via aself-assessment approach in order to thereafter transmit a job betweensaid at least two networked devices in response to a help request withrespect to an exception condition within said device community; andproviding a notification indicative of a transmission of said job withrespect to a user in said device community, thereby effectivelyre-routing said job between said at least two networked devices acrosssaid device community while providing internal workload balancing withrespect to said device community.
 2. The method of claim 1 furthercomprising connecting each networked device within said device communityas a member of a plurality of device communities in order to enablebridging of communications between said plurality of communities ofwhich said device community comprises at least one community among saidplurality of communities.
 3. The method of claim 1 further comprising:transmitting said help request within said device community if a faultdevice is required to transfer said job to said at least two networkeddevices in said exception condition; and indicating an acceptance withrespect to said job from said fault device based on said at least twonetworked devices compatibility to process said job.
 4. The method ofclaim 1 further comprising transmitting said help request within saiddevice community if said networked device having a print limit is unableto complete said job.
 5. The method of claim 1 further comprisingrequesting at least one pre-paid print allocation from said at least twonetworked devices by said fault device in order to accept and completesaid job in said device community.
 6. The method of claim 1 furthercomprising self-updating and sharing said at least one pre-paid printallocation in order to contact an external resource that describes saiddevice capability with respect to said at least two networked devices.7. The method of claim 1 further comprising sharing at least one policycheck with respect to said job between said at least two networkeddevices across said device community.
 8. The method of claim 1 furthercomprising communicating said at least two networked devices in saiddevice community via at least one of the following standard protocols: asimple network management protocol; and a file transfer protocol.
 9. Themethod of claim 1 further comprising connecting said at least twonetworked devices in said community via a peer-to-peer connection. 10.The method of claim 1 further creating said device community utilizingat least one of the following approaches: a manual approach; and aself-discovery approach.
 11. A system for automatically redirecting jobsin a device community, said system comprising: a processor; a data buscoupled to said processor; and a computer-usable medium embodyingcomputer code, said computer-usable medium being coupled to said databus, said computer program code comprising instructions executable bysaid processor and configured for: arranging a device community byconnecting at least two networked devices to one another to form saiddevice community based on a set of rules and policies in order tointeract and publish a device capability with respect to said at leasttwo networked devices of said device community; monitoring and trackinga status of said at least two networked devices associated with saiddevice community via a self-assessment approach in order to thereaftertransmit a job between said at least two networked devices in responseto a help request with respect to an exception condition within saiddevice community; and providing a notification indicative of atransmission of said job with respect to a user in said devicecommunity, thereby effectively re-routing said job between said at leasttwo networked devices across said device community while providinginternal workload balancing with respect to said device community. 12.The system of claim 11 wherein said instructions are further configuredfor connecting each networked device within said device community as amember of a plurality of device communities in order to enable bridgingof communications between said plurality of communities of which saiddevice community comprises at least one community among said pluralityof communities.
 13. The system of claim 11 wherein said instructions arefurther configured for: transmitting said help request within saiddevice community if a fault device is required to transfer said job tosaid at least two networked devices in said exception condition; andindicating an acceptance with respect to said job from said fault devicebased on said at least two networked devices compatibility to processsaid job.
 14. The system of claim 11 wherein said instructions arefurther configured for transmitting said help request within said devicecommunity if said networked device having a print limit is unable tocomplete said job.
 15. The system of claim 11 wherein said instructionsare further configured for requesting at least one pre-paid printallocation from said at least two networked devices by said fault devicein order to accept and complete said job in said device community. 16.The system of claim 11 wherein said instructions are further configuredfor self-updating and sharing said at least one pre-paid printallocation in order to contact an external resource that describes saiddevice capability with respect to said at least two networked devices.17. The system of claim 11 wherein said instructions are furtherconfigured for sharing at least one policy check with respect to saidjob between said at least two networked devices across said devicecommunity.
 18. The system of claim 11 wherein said instructions arefurther configured for communicating said at least two networked devicesin said device community via at least one of the following standardprotocols: a simple network management protocol; and a file transferprotocol.
 19. The system of claim 11 wherein said instructions arefurther configured for connecting said at least two networked devices insaid community via a peer-to-peer connection.
 20. A system forautomatically redirecting jobs in a device community, said systemcomprising: a processor; a data bus coupled to said processor; and acomputer-usable medium embodying computer code, said computer-usablemedium being coupled to said data bus, said computer program codecomprising instructions executable by said processor and configured for:arranging a device community by connecting at least two networkeddevices to one another to form said device community based on a set ofrules and policies in order to interact and publish a device capabilitywith respect to said at least two networked devices of said devicecommunity; monitoring and tracking a status of said at least twonetworked devices associated with said device community via aself-assessment approach in order to thereafter transmit a job betweensaid at least two networked devices in response to a help request withrespect to an exception condition within said device community;providing a notification indicative of a transmission of said job withrespect to a user in said device community, thereby effectivelyre-routing said job between said at least two networked devices acrosssaid device community while providing internal workload balancing withrespect to said device community; and communicating said at least twonetworked devices in said device community via at least one of thefollowing standard protocols: a simple network management protocol; or afile transfer protocol.